Last Friday morning, the Richmond International Airport (RIC) unveiled a new website meant to be more compatible with mobile technology. “Communication has changed,” said Troy Bell, director of marketing & air service development with RIC. “It’s a mobile era.”

In April, RIC partnered with Richmond-based West Cary Group to make the site more mobile-friendly. While the airport averages 12,000 travelers per day the airport’s website averages 150,000 visits per day. “We feel it’s a pretty critical site,” said Bell.

In 2008, the airport redesigned their website, and not long after, it became virtually obsolete. “The iPhone wasn’t very popular at that time,” said Bell. The redesign has accommodated mobile devices, while also giving desktop users a simplified interface. “Now we are in much better shape,” said Bell. More is also on the way.

He said about 12 Google employees visited the airport in recent days to map “every square foot of public space.” As a result, visitors to the website will soon be able to locate restaurants, retail stores, and other amenities similar to the user experience of Google Maps. Bell said that should be available in the coming weeks, making RIC one of only a few airports nationwide to have such a feature.